home learning plan, grades 5 and 2

This year marks the beginning of my third full year as a homeschool parent-teacher. Because of our transition into homeschooling, however, this is the first year I have a bit of repetition of grades and I can now say I have taught kindy through fourth already. My children are incredibly different, however, and we came into homeschooling already part way through second with Lala bug, so there are, as always, new things to learn and expect.

While it feels like time is passing very quickly, and the sensitive, sentimental, melancholic parts of me cannot believe how things have changed, it is clear, even to me, the person who sees them everyday, how much my kids have grown in the past year. It feels funny, though, to be nearing middle school and another step away from kindy, with each of them.

We take a nature based approach to learning and I read and consider the child development stages and materials brought forth in Waldorf education (Rudolf Steiner) when planning and teaching. I love the thoughtful, holistic, gentle approach. Here are our plans for this school year.

This year, for both kids, I will be using a blend of materials, depending on the subject and block we are covering. My primary resources are some block specific resources from Christopherus (although I don’t have their full curricula this year), Waldorf Inspirations (primarily for 5th), Marsha Johnson/waldorfhomeeducators Yahoo! group (free) files, and Waldorf Essentials, Journey Through Waldorf Homeschooling for grades 2 and 5, as well as the Waldorf Essentials Thinking Feeling Willing program (for me). I keep a thorough list of resources, so I will draw favorites from there for fun game and craft ideas, for read-alouds, or as assigned reading (for Lala bug), but the four resources above are my core. I am not an open-a-book-and-go kind of teacher-mamma. If I were, my planning would be simpler!

I plan using Evernote (free version). I make a grid for the year, add in all the important dates, at the overall block I plan to cover for each child, and that is my overall outline. I move on to a grid for each child, listing specifically what I plan to cover in each subject, regardless of the block we are in. This helps me with reporting to the charter we school through. From there, I create yet another chart, which has my children side by side, and lists, in detail, what I plan to cover, the resources I plan to use, and the activities I plan to do. All that takes a chunk of time and I usually start at the end of the prior school year.

This year, Lala bug will be learning about North American geography, botany, decimals, basic geometry, and the ancient civilizations of India, Egypt, and Greece. She’ll participate in several 4-H projects, most of which have yet to be announced and decided. (I will be back to edit!) This autumn, she will be taking soccer and ballet classes, a book making class, and a class about Russian and Alaskan history and influence in California.

This year, Little Brown Mouse will be learning about animals, some basic science concepts, and writing from fables and legends, he’ll learn carrying and borrowing, practice more of the four processes, and place value, and he’ll do some nature studies.  He’ll participate in several 4-H projects, most of which have yet to be announced and decided. (I will be back to edit!) This autumn, he will be taking soccer, a class about flight, and a class that will combine imagination, stories, and logic.

Whew! It is a lot and the key for me is to get us into a comfortable rhythm and, for the first time last year, practice saying no to doing too much. All three of us need and enjoy time at home!

Whether you are going to school, sending a child off to school, or starting your own homeschool year, good luck and enjoy!